Taryn
by Galadriel-longleaf
Summary: Taryn of Skida's fiefdom is ravaged by raiders. The king offers her training to rescue her people. She stays at the palace, acting as a page.
1. Default Chapter

This is a revised edition of the original Taryn. After some flames, I realized what a horrible writer I was, and decided to rework it. It isn't tons better, but a little better. I've only got three chapters now, but reread it. I did switch it around a little bit. Oh, and the people who gave me reviews... I'll thank you later. But, I am thankful for the reviews albeit the amount. Alright, this was originally my first fanfic so review again please. I mean because it isn't that difficult to do. THANKS!

DISCLAIMER: Blah blah blah I don't think that I invented the Tortall series. more BLah BLah BLah, so dont sue me and my dog Toto.

She could hear the shrieking now. They were getting closer. She could smell the burning skin and sense the fear that filled the air. Taryn grabbed her bow and leapt out of her tent. If she ran now, she could make it out of the forest and reach safety. That was not an option though, seeing as there was Ella and John and Mona to think about. She would never make it. Nonetheless, Taryn sprinted to the village community center hut and dashed in the doorway. She found John huddled in the corner of a smoldering, scattered room. With a sinking feeling in her heart, she recognized Ella and Mona's figures face down on the ground. The shock snapped her into action.

"Get up!" she yelled to John through the din. "Get up _now_ and start moving!" They lit out of there and ran like banshees towards the river while arrows soared through the air barely missing the pair. "Come on, we've got to make it to Corus," she urged, "we'll be safe there."

After running on for what seemed like hours, Taryn and John realized that the enemy was not chasing them anymore. After catching their breath, they continued blindly not knowing exactly how to reach Corus. Finally the two reached an inn and decided to get directions in the morning. They stumbled in and plunked down some coins and asked for a room. Sleep came and went, and when the two weary escapees awoke at noon, the kind innkeeper had set up a lunch for them. They ate ravenously.

"Where ya headed miss?" came from a chipper voice. They turned their heads and were greeted by a shock of wild red hair. "I said, where ya headed miss?" he said impatiently.

Amazed by the boy's brazenness, they gaped with slacken jaws. Then Taryn regained her wits and responded,

"Corus, could ya point us in the right direction?"

"Well most idiots would've figured out by now that uh…. YOU'RE IN BLOODY CORUS FOR MITHROS'S SAKE!" said the boy obviously exasperated now.


	2. The Palace

My name is Taryn. I am or was the sole ruler of Skida. My fief was left to me by my deceased parents. Skida has been my fief for 4 years now. It was a difficult challenge governing a fiefdom at my inexperienced age of 17 but it seems I also inherited the people's loyalty with the fiefdom. Most would have never let a girl of seventeen years govern a fief without a husband, and I am most grateful to my people for trusting me.

I would never have made it without my friends Ella, John, and Mona. They were orphans that were originally brought from an abusive father to be my companions as I was an only child, and eventually became my family. Ella was the youngest, an adorable child of five years with golden curls and a smile that could light up the darkest day. Mona was the eldest. She had no nonsense long brown hair and was my age. She was the person I confided in, my closest friend. The girls' deaths grieve me, but that enrages me more and urges me to avenge their innocent deaths. I always thought that when a person dies, they are in a better place, and therefore we should not mourn overly long for them. John is two years younger than me and is a brainy sort. His head is shaped rather similarly to an egg, but he has the most intelligent blue eyes. The gods were merciful to leave me John; I will need his wise advice.

When we were attacked by raiders, I was in my personal tent. I had moved out of my bed chambers for the maids were unreasonably underfoot. I prefer not having everyone worship me every minute of the day. My plan is to go to King Roald and ask him for aid in my revenge against the raiders.

The boy's name was Marcus. Marcus of Queenscove. So it was that we decided to ask Marcus to lead us to the palace. It did strike me as odd when he sort of appeared out of nowhere, but we were still going to use his services. My intuitions told me that he wasn't going to lead us to trouble, and I have _excellent_ intuitions. His red hair and green eyes complimented each other beautifully and his handsomely carved figure was hard to miss. His irresistibly striking face was absolutely scrumptious. NO! That was not the intuition part! However, he did seem to have a good light, and a carefree zest for life.

We came to a stop. Marcus said, "We're at the palace now, what do you think?"

The palace towered over us; it had been remodeled in the last decade. It had gorgeous towers and buttresses. Intricate details covered the smooth walls. I had never seen such grandeur before. It was a majestic site that almost blinded me when the sun bounced off the golden inscriptions. Marcus had mysteriously left us at the gates without his pay, and was nowhere to be found. I let John go to tour the rest of the palace as I could see he was itching to explore. I thought such a distraction would provide a brief respite from the mourning of his sisters.

When I entered, someone directed me to a room. After describing my situation, and my request to meet the king, His highness King Roald, I was led to a much richer room. A man, slouching against the door, immediately jumped to attention. He had crystal clear blue-green eyes that unnervingly reached out to me, with warm, honey blond hair that was cropped short.

"Ya gotta let me relieve ya of your weapons ma'am," said the man lazily.

"I own no weapons, good sir, now please allow me to pass," I bluffed.

"My dear lady, that may be the case, but you bear two ankle daggers, one dagger in your sleeve, one between places where only the lucky has gone, and one leather pouch containing deadly throwing stars under your finely made dress," carelessly drawled the handsome man. "Will a body search be necessary?" flirtingly teased the divine male. I was melting.

"No!" I squeaked as I hastily removed my weapons. The man chuckled and let me enter the chamber. When I entered that room, I was struck speechless. It was then that I felt my heart move and I was filled with awe. The sunlight reached in through the tall windows and highlighted the king's face in all of his glory. In that moment, I made a sincere vow that I would serve this ruler for the rest of my life. I waited in the long line and I finally kneeled in front of my king.

"My lord," I breathlessly murmered .

"Your majesty, I believe my fief has been attacked by raiders," I whispered.

"Your name, if you please my lady," gently probed the king. Oh how foolish I felt then, I had forgotten to introduce myself! But the king did not make me feel like the dolt I was.

"My name is Taryn and I rule the fief Skida. My family was killed in the war, your majesty. I have come to beseech you for your aid. I am all my people have left." I pleaded with tears glistening in my eyes as I remembered the deaths of my people. The king came down from his throne and held my hand in his own.

"My lady, I will strive to aid you in whatever way I can," he solemnly replied. I left the room and only then did I realize that he didn't question my age, unlike so many others.

The king had ordered for me luxurious rooms as according to my station. I entered, exhausted from the encounter with the king and stripped to my shift. I soon fell into a deep sleep, but when I awoke, curiously enough, bright blue eyes were twinkling in front of my face.

"AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I screamed. A man leapt back startled. It was the man outside the throne room!

"Why are you in my room!" I shrieked.

"Exactly what I wanted to ask!" retorted the man.

"No, the king allowed me this room." I explained.

So after an awkward moment where I slipped into some clothes, we stormed over to Salma's quarters where we found out that she wasn't going to be back from her trip till tomorrow. We decided to stay in the room for the night.

"By the way, my name is Sean," said the man as we dragged ourselves back to our room.

"Taryn of Skida," I replied, "look, I suppose that wasn't the best introduction ever but I hope that we can make tonight as comfortable as circumstances will allow us." We walked into the room and awkwardly sat down on the bed.

"Well er, I suppose we must establish sleeping arrangements," I delicately suggested.

"Why? Are you uncomfortable with us sharing the bed?" serenely questioned Sean. His handsome face was straight.

"Oh! It wouldn't be proper!" I was shocked.

"Oh don't look so shocked, " he said loftily, " I was only joking. I'll sleep on the floor, and my lady shall sleep on my bed." Only then did I see the mirth in his eyes. My head was spinning, my legs were weak. It was then when I decided to do a very rash thing. I collected what was left of my scattered wits and said the first thing that came to my mind.

"Actually my lord, I don't see why not." I commented casually.

"Beg pardon," Sean exclaimed.

"I do not see what is so incriminating with us sleeping in the same bed since all we are going to do is sleep," and with a 'Good day my lord', I swept out the door.


	3. Lord Sean

I decided to go out and explore the palace grounds. This palace was intricately beautiful. I found gorgeous hunting grounds, wonderfully stabled horses, and marvelous practice courts. I ran into a courtier who was actually looking for me.

"My lady, the king requests your presence," announced the courtier. I rushed to the king and was breathless once more in his presence except this time it was due to the strenuous running.

"Your majesty," I curtsied.

"Ah, my lady of Skida, I am here to counsel you in your actions from here. I have made some assumptions here, and correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that you wish to go to your people's aid," he paused, "I wish to talk you out of this for a couple of reasons."

"Begging pardon my lord, but I shall not desert my people!" I claimed outraged. After listening to this outburst, the king continued.

"One, I think your people will have a greater appreciation for you if you rode at the head of your men. You will need proper training for this. Two, I do not think that your people are in grave peril, they are not being slaughtered. I do not believe that these are typical raiders. I have my agents discovering and finding out more about these "raiders". Three, in this weather, I believe that our attack will be more effective if we attacked in spring." he concluded.

"Oh," was all I had left to say, "in that case, I accept your offer of training and advice."

"Excellent, your personal teacher shall be my most loyal subject, Lord Sean,"

I expressed my wishes that my training was to begin immediately when I was gently reminded that I would need supplies. My "instructor" Lord Sean and I toured the palace.

He brought me to a Lady Lalasa. I was led to a fitting room in the back. As she measured me, she slyly teased,

"Excellent choice," She winked and I blushed.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously.

"The physical attraction between you two is almost palpable," said Lalasa in a matter of fact way, "hell, I'll take him off your hands if you want."

"Lord Sean is not my property for me to decide who he should spend his time with, ma'm," I nonchalantly denied. "Are you done yet?" I asked.

"Yes, I can see you're anxious to get to your sweetheart," Lalasa said with good humor. Before I could protest against her words, I found myself pushed out the doors and into Lord Sean. We scrambled apart and found ourselves walking toward the armory.

I was rather embarrassed and walked quickly. Lord Sean of course would never lose his cool. 'I must really learn to control my emotions,' I thought. 'He did have an incredibly charming personality, and he is always so handsome. ARGH! What am I thinking! NO, NO, I must not think like this.'

"And here we are at the armory," announced Lord Sean. "are you feeling all right? You seem really quiet."

"A lady is seen, not heard," I saucily replied. 'WHY DID I JUST SAY THAT! GODS, HE'S SO HANDSOME AND HE'S ONLY TRYING TO BE NICE. STUPID TARYN!' I mentally kicked myself.

"Well, my _lady, _I have pondered how to treat you, but for your training's sake, I have come to the conclusion that, until your training is over I shall treat you like a page," he said.

"So what do I call you?" I questioned.

"Lord Sean," he replied simply.

"Yes, my lord," I meekly replied.

The rest of the day passed swiftly. I got a used practice sword for lessons, and a glaive that the famed Lady Keladry made so popular. I was to use a longbow and practice lance from the page supplies. We neared our room now.

"Lessons begin tomorrow," announced Lord Sean, "be up at dawn. I have errands to run, but I shall come back to fetch you for dinner."


End file.
